News

A Florida immigration judge has dismissed the deportation case against Youssef Megahed. The The 23 year old Florida Student was arrested by federal immigration agents in April just three days after a jury acquitted him on federal explosives charges. After hearing a week of evidence put forward by Homeland Security Attorneys, immigration judge Kenneth S. Hurewitz said "I don’t believe the government has met its burden in this case." He dismissed the case before the defense had to present any witnesses.

A bipartisan group of six Senators on the Senate Finance Committee has been working in secret for weeks to draft an alternative to President Obama’s plan to overhaul the nation’s healthcare system that does not contain a public insurance option, despite support for such an option from American voters. The Senate legislation was drafted during meetings in the office of committee chair, Max Baucus (D–MT). Last month, the Montana Standard reported Baucus has received more campaign money from health and insurance industry interests than any other member of Congress.

New York City, NY – Award-winning journalist and host of Democracy Now! Amy Goodman is the first journalist to receive the Right Livelihood Award, widely recognized as the world’s premier award for personal courage and social transformation. The annual prize, also known as the Alternative Nobel, will be awarded in the Swedish Parliament on December 8, 2008.

The St. Paul City Attorney’s office announced Friday it will not prosecute Democracy Now! journalists Amy Goodman, Sharif Abdel Kouddous and Nicole Salazar. St. Paul Mayor Chris Coleman also issued a statement Friday that “the city will decline to prosecute misdemeanor charges for presence at an unlawful assembly for journalists arrested during the Republican National Convention.”

Hours after Democracy Now! correspondent Jeremy Scahill revealed Barack Obama would not “rule out” using private military companies like Blackwater Worldwide in Iraq, Hillary Clinton announced she would co-sponsor a measure to ban the use of Blackwater and other private military firms.

President Jose Ramos-Horta in critical condition after two gunshots to the stomach and chest during a morning raid on his home be Timorese rebels. The home of former president and current Prime Minister Xanana Gusmao was also attacked, but Gusmao eluded his attackers.

By a 3-to-2 vote, the Federal Communications Commission voted on Tuesday to relax the rules for companies seeking to own both a newspaper and television or radio station in the same city. FCC Chair Martin pushed the vote despite widespread opposition from lawmakers and the general public.

DN! In Depth

By Amy Goodman with Denis Moynihan — The corporate television newscasts spend more and more time covering the increasingly disruptive, costly and at times deadly weather. But they consistently fail to make the link between extreme weather and climate change.